The power is back on and many people have been able to get their wells up and running again in the Tassajara Fire, and now those who plan to rebuild are starting to make plans.

“I am going to build right over where we are standing,” Bob Eaton said while standing in the rubble where his house used to be off Tassajara Road.

Eaton, a firefighter lost his home, while saving others, on Saturday September 19, when a blaze that ended up taking out a dozen homes and burning more than 1,000 acres got started on Tassajara.

Eaton has already begun the rebuilding process with the help of friends he put in new water tanks this weekend and is planning the new construction. This time he wants to build stucco house, instead of one with cedar siding, and pour a concrete slab foundation instead of one like the conventional one he had that cracked under the heat.

“Try to make it a little more flame proof, although in reality, there is nothing anybody could have done to save this place,” Eaton said.

Unfortunately Eaton's situation isn't unique, 11 other families lost their homes too and the Cachagua General Store has become a point place for people to find out who needs help.

“Just through the grapevine here, we can hear about somebody who needs something, like the kid who lost his laptop and his cell phone,” said store owner Michael Jones.

Jones has been taking donations at his store and distributing them to fire victims. He said people really appreciate gift cards, because it feels less like a handout than cash, and helps them get what they need.

Eaton said this sense of community is why is wants to come back and rebuild.

“There is an amazing amount of kindness out there,” he said about his experiences since the fire.

If you are looking for a way to help the Community Foundation for Monterey County has created the Tassajara Fire Fund to assist the Carmel Valley community in recovery efforts from the fire.